Over the weekend, I ran a 5k with our eight and twelve year old. All in all, we had a blast, and I was very impressed with both of them. For our eight year old, it was his very first race, and he performed admirably.

During the race, my wife hung back with our five year old. For those that can count, you’ll note that I only mentioned three of our four boys. That’s because our ten year old opted out and slept over at a friend’s house.

Rushing out the door

We had planned to leave about an hour before the race to give us plenty of time to register, warm up, etc. Shortly after pouring myself a bowl of cereal, however, I looked at the race paperwork and discovered that it was scheduled to start 30 minutes earlier than anticipated.

We all dropped what we were doing, got ready in a flash, and jumped in the car. We ended up getting down to the race more or less on time, though I only ate about one bite of breakfast and barely had time to take a few sips of water.

We had to rush through our warmups a bit, but were feeling pretty good about things when the race started. This race was in the same general area as our first 5k, though the course rather different.

And they’re off…

As we lined up, I could tell that our eight year old was totally excited. He’d been looking forward to the day for weeks, and he had a cool confidence about him.

When I asked if he wanted me to run with him, he said “No, I’m fine. You can just run at your own pace.” I think that both of use were expecting me to be fast than him. Guess what? We were both wrong.

The race was essentially an out-and-back that started out by heading down (down, down, down) toward the river. Of course, that meant we’d have to go up (up, up, up) to get back to the finish.

It was 7:30 AM, but the temp was already getting close to 80° and the humidity was hovering around 75%. Yuck. Oh well, at least it was early. It later got to 99° with a heat index nearing 110°.

Falling behind

Shortly after we took off, our twelve year old announced that he was going ahead. No problem, I thought. He’d been threatening to “own” me all week, and he’s much better than me on hills, so I expected him to pull away at some point.

The middle section of the course was overlooking the river, so there was a decent view. Unfortunately, it was far from flat. Our eight year old was doing a fantastic job and, according to RunKeeper, we were moving at a decent pace (around 9:45/mile).

As we neared the turnaround point, however, he started pulling away from me. I wasn’t sure what to think, but I let him go. I halfway expected to catch back up to him on the final hill, but I didn’t see him again until the finish line.

As I expected, the hill at the end was a killer, but I kept moving and got through it. My twelve year old later told me that he nicknamed it “Treadmill Hill” because he felt like no matter how hard he tried, he wasn’t getting anywhere.

Trophy time

After conquering that last hill, the finish line finally came into view. My two boys were there waiting and I got a kick of adrenaline. I wound up crossing the finish line in 32:47. That’s my slowest 5k time thus far, but the conditions were also the hardest, so I’m fine with it.

And my kids? They not only beat me, but they both also won trophies! Our twelve year old took 2nd place for his age group, and our eight year old took 3rd for his age group.

As I crossed the finish line, my eight year old looked up with a gleam in his eye and said “Dad, do you think they’d let me run it again?” Hah. Maybe next year.

While he didn’t get to tackle the course a second time, he jumped at the chance to do the mile-long Fun Run. And guess what? He covered that mile in 8:30 despite having just run his first 5k. Not bad for an eight year old, huh?

As for our five year old, he ran some, walked some, and got a piggyback for awhile. At the end, however, he crested the Treadmill Hill on foot and sprinted to the end of his first 5k. He also did the Fun Run and made it through the whole way.

One last thing… This marks my 3rd consecutive month having run a 5k since I started running. My twelve year old and I have an unofficial goal of running at least one 5k per month for 12 months in a row.

In the time since I published my RunKeeper vs. Nike+ comparison, I’ve had several people ask me if RunKeeper is accurate. The short answer is yes, mostly. The slightly longer answer is not always, and when it’s wrong, it’s really wrong.

I should preface this by saying that, overall, I’m a fan of RunKeeper. I started out with RunKeeper Free and quickly upgraded to RunKeeper Pro because I wanted to support ongoing development of the program. That being said…

My early experience

When I first started using RunKeeper, it seemed to lop off a bit of the distance at each end of my neighborhood laps. This is perhaps understandable, as I run down-and-back, and it’s algorithm was probably (I’m just guessing here) rounding off the turnaround point.

Not long thereafter, they released an update that was supposed to provide better accuracy. While they didn’t specifically what they had changed or why, RunKeeper suddenly started reporting very accurate distances along my preferred route. Score one for the RunKeeper gang!

Periodic freak outs

Since that time, I’ve generally been quite happy with RunKeeper’s accuracy. Every once in awhile, however, it simply freaks out. Take, for example, yesterday’s run…

This was a 5 mile run along a known route. While it took me just under 60 minutes to complete (that much is correct), RunKeeper reported that I had covered 45.86 miles while running at an average pace of 1:18/mile. Amazingly, I only burned 1432 calories during this workout.

In looking at the map, it appears that RunKeeper repeatedly “jumped” to a point about five miles away and back again. I’m guessing that it periodically lost the GPS signal and reverted to finding my position based on the nearest cell tower, but I’m not 100% sure.

As for that lost GPS signal, the sky was clear, and there was nothing overhead. Thus, there shouldn’t have been any problems holding a signal. For what it’s worth, I also had wifi turned off on my phone, as this reportedly improves accuracy.

This exact same thing happened to me a few weeks back while out on my first 10k run. Identical conditions (clear sky, nothing overhead, wifi off) and the map showed a similar pattern. Given that this particular run took place about five states away, I know my local geography isn’t causing the problem.

Who’s to blame?

To be fair, RunKeeper relies on the iPhone GPS, and so this problem could very well be due to hardware limitations. In other words, if the hardware loses the signal, the software may be reduced to trying to locate you through neighboring cell towers.

Regardless, those that are interested in using RunKeeper should be aware that it’s prone to freaking out on an occasional run. If you can live with that, then it’s a handy (and affordable!) tool for tracking your runs. If not, then you might want to look elsewhere.

As of this morning, PhysicsDiet shows my weight as being 229.85 pounds. In other words, I’ve met my goals of 230 pounds by the end of 2010. Since 230 wasn’t intended to be the end all of my journey, it looks like it’s time for a new goal…

As I’ve noted previously, I’m not doing anything particularly special to lose this weight. I’m just eating better and exercising more. Given these changes, I’d be happy to let my weight settle out at a new equilibrium and see where we’re at.

At the same time, I’m motivated by goals, and I’d like to set a new one so I have at least a vague idea as to where I’m headed. So… I’ve decided to re-define my weight loss goal as 210 pounds before I turn 40.

In other words, I’d like to lose 20 more pounds over the next 11 or so months. Why 20 pounds? For starters, it’s a nice round number, and I like nice round numbers.

Beyond that, it would put me back in the range I was at around the start of college. It would also give me a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 24.9, which would be me back (barely) in the “normal” range. While I have mixed feelings about measures like BMI

In truth, I should probably be tracking body fat alongside body weight. Unfortunately, I don’t currently have an easy way of estimating that, and I honestly have no idea where I stand.

I’ve decided to re-define my goal as being 210 pounds before I turn 40, which means 20 more pounds over the next 11 or so months. Why 210 pounds? Well, for starters, it’s a nice round number, and I like nice round numbers.

Beyond that, I’m 6′5″ so a body weight of 210 would give me a Body Mass Index (BMI) of just under 25, which would put me back (barely) in the “normal” range.

While I’m not a huge fan of BMI, my recollection is that 210 is a decent weight for me, and 25 is once again a nice, round number.

Oops. July is more than half over, and I still haven’t posted a weight loss update for June. As I’ve noted in the past, I track my weight online with PhysicsDiet, which does a nice job of smoothing out the data and providing an estimate of my “true” weight so I can easily see the overall trends instead of random blips and bumps.

As you can see from the graph below, I made fairly steady progress overall, though I did experience some ups and downs around the middle of the month.

Throughout the month, my diet was fairly good. I’m not really doing anything special beyond trying to make better choices as I go through each day, but it seems to be working. In terms of exercise, I managed to log a total of 49.2 miles running during June, and also had some untracked elliptical sessions.

The end result of all of this was that my weight dropped from 235 pounds to just over 232 pounds. That works out to a loss of 0.57 pounds/week due to an estimated calorie deficit of 285 calories/day.

Over the weekend, I went out looking for running shirts. We live in the South, where it gets hot, hot, hot during the summer. On top of that, I’ve been running in cotton t-shirts. Big mistake, I know. After a few miles, my t-shirt feels like it weighs about ten pounds. Not good. Time for a change!

My first and only stop on this shopping trip was Academy Sports. While Academy has a decent selection of brands and designs, keep in mind that you won’t find running shirts from New Balance, Brooks, Atayne, Patagonia, and the like.

My only other complaint was that they were a bit lacking in terms of size selection. This is, however, a common problem for me, as I’m 6′5″ and typically wear an XLT or 2XL (rarely a 2XLT). Nonetheless, I still had plenty to choose from.

What follows is a quick rundown of the shirts I tried, and my initial thoughts.

Under Armour HeatGear running shirts

The first rack that we walked up to was filled with Under Armour HeatGear. Unlike old school Under Armour shirts, which are referred to as “compression” shirts, these were advertised as being “fitted.”

Unfortunately, they weren’t comfortable at all. While I understand that “fitted” shirts are going to be a bit more streamlined than a traditional cut, the shoulders were far too narrow, even in a 2XL. The end results was sleeves that rode up my arms and bound in my pits.

Aside from the poor fit, the Under Armour shirts were also amongst the most expensive shirts in the store at around $30. Time to move on…

Nike Dri-Fit running shirts

Our next stop was the Nike Dri-Fit section. Nike has tons of designs and I unfortunately neglected to write down the names of the various shirts that I tried on. I did, however, find a very comfortable design that was lightweight and fit well.

Unfortunately, the Nike section was very picked over in terms of sizes, and I could only find a single 2XL in the design that I liked. If that was the best I could do, I was prepared to buy that one for $25 and hunt for more later, but I wasn’t done shopping yet.

Russell Athletic Dri-Power running shirts

I next moved to the Russell Dri-Power shirts. These were amongst the most comfortable shirts that I tried on. Like the Nike’s, they were very lightweight, and they fit great. However, they had a fatal flaw… The fabric is prone to snagging.

While taking one of the shirts off the hanger, I snagged the fabric on the shoulder. I later noticed that pretty much every shirt on the rack had at least one snag in the fabric.

Hmmm. Great comfort and just $14.99, but I was hoping for a bit more durability.

Adidas ClimaCool running shirts

Perhaps the most disappointing section in the store was the Adidas ClimaCool section. Their fabric wasn’t particularly lightweight, and the shirts were not (in my opinion) particularly comfortable. I can’t really put my finger on it, I just didn’t like them.

Given that the Nike Dri-Fit shirt was much more comfortable, and comparable in price, I quickly moved on knowing that I had already found a better option.

Academy Sports BCG running shirts

I was just about to take the one Nike Dri-Fit shirt and head home when I spied another rack of running clothes. As I approached, I saw a name that I didn’t recognize – BCG. As it turns out, BCG is the Academy Sports “store brand.”

As I picked through the shirts, I found a number that I liked in the right size. The fabric was a bit heavier than the Nike Dri-Fit, more on par with Under Armour, but it was fairly comfortable and the price was certainly right at $12.99/shirt.

Buying my new shirts

After considering my options, I ended up buying three BCG shirts. It remains whether or not I’ll like them, but I’m hoping that they’ll do the job. I’ll be sure to post an update as soon as I know more.

As an aside, I’ve heard from several people that the Champion Duo-Dry shirts at Target are a great value. Low cost, comfortable, and effective. I’ll probably swing by and pick one up for comparison when I get a chance.

Okay, now I’d love to hear your thoughts… Do you have a preferred running shirt? If so, which one, and what do you like about it? And are there any that you’ve tried and hated?

Want to run faster? Then maybe you should relax. That’s the upshot of an article over on Active.com that Heather recently sent to me. Obviously, no amount of relaxation will offset a lack of proper training, but I’ve definitely noticed that I run better when I’m relaxed.

The article also listed some specific tips for relaxing on the run:

• Slacken your jaw and let your eyes soft and droop
• Keep your upper back perpendicular to the running surface
• Make sure your hands aren’t clenched
• Focus on a smooth stride
• Shake out your arms, relax your shoulders
• As you run, repeat the word “calm” or “relax”
• “Don’t apply power; float with strength”

For me, tense shoulders are one of my biggest problems when I run. Now that I’m aware of it, I simply raise and drop my shoulders a few times when I notice that I’m starting to tense up.

What about you? Is your body tense when you run? Any tips for relaxing?

Source: Active.com

Holy crap. I went for a run with my wife yesterday, and boy did I suffer! Whenever she takes the kids to Taekwando, she runs a 4+ mile out-and-back. She’s told me in the past how much she enjoys it, so yesterday I decided to join her.

In describing her route, she said that it’s both shady and fairly easy. Beyond her route description, she’s always made a big deal about how much faster I run than she does. I’ve found this hard to believe, especially since she’s been running her whole life, but she insisted.

Given the above, I figured I was in for a nice and easy run. A forgiving route, a slow partner, what more could I ask for? Unfortunately, my wife was wrong on all accounts.

Technically, the route is shady, but that’s at 5PM. Yesterday we tackled it at 10AM. Guess what? Not shady.

As for easy, it starts out fairly flat for a little better than half a mile before hitting a half mile descent. This didn’t seem like much going out, but it wasn’t much fun coming back. This initial dropoff was followed by a 0.85 mile climb to the turnaround point. Sure, we got to run back down, but I was spent by the time we reached the top.

Oh, and remember my supposedly slow wife? As it turns out, she’s significantly faster than advertised, and also handles hills much better than I do. In her defense, she claims that she’s never gotten through this particular route as fast as she did yesterday, but whatever… She certainly wore me out before leaving me in her dust.

In the final analysis, I went out way too fast. The route wasn’t that hard, I was just running too fast. After suffering up the back hill, I told my wife to go on ahead without me. I wanted to quit most of the way back, but I didn’t. I soldiered on, plodded my way up the final incline, and completed 4.01 miles at a pace of 11:31/mile. Not too bad (for me), but it certainly wasn’t pretty.

As I noted in my previous post, Body Mass Index (BMI) is a controversial tool for identifying obesity. The good news is that there’s a new and more accurate measure available for predicting obesity risk in kids.

According to a recent study in the journal Pediatrics, neck circumference appears to be an easy and much more accurate indicator of obesity in kids than the standard BMI calculation. While adults may develop a muscular neck due to work or exercise, the same is not true of kids.

Researchers measured neck size in 1100 kids between the ages of 6-18 and found that it accurately predicted obesity in a high percentage of cases. For example, a six year old boy with a neck circumference of greater than 11.2 inches was found to be 3.6 times more likely to be overweight or obese than a peer below that level.

The reason this measure works so well is that there’s a strong correlation between neck circumference and belly fat in kids. Excessive belly fat has been linked to a number maladies including high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and diabetes. While one could simply screen for belly fat, it’s much easier to quickly and accurately measure neck circumference.

Source: CNN/Health

Those that are interested in tracking their weight have most likely heard the term Body Mass Index (BMI). I’ve mentioned BMI here in the past, but have never really talked about exactly what it is, or how it’s calculated.

Your BMI is a measure of your body weight in relation to your height. While BMI doesn’t directly measure your percent body fat, it’s often used as a metric for determining whether or not you are underweight, overweight, or obese.

How to calculate BMI

There are actually two different (but equivalent) formulas for calculating body mass index. Ultimately, BMI is expressed as kg/m^2, so if your measurements were done in imperial units (pounds and inches) you’ll have to use an alternate formula.

Metric BMI calculation

In metric units, the BMI calculation is done as follows:

BMI = (mass in kg) / (height in meters)^2

So for me… I currently weigh roughly 232 pounds (105.2 kg) and I’m 6′5″ tall (1.96 m). This works out to a BMI of 27.4.

Imperial/English calculation

In imperial units, the calculation is done as follows:

BMI = (pounds x 703) / (height in inches)^2

As above, my height is 77 inches and I weigh 232 pounds, which works out to a BMI of 27.5. The slight difference in results is due to rounding.

How to interpret BMI values

So… Now that you know your Body Mass Index, what does it mean? According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), BMI values can be broken up into the following categories

• Underweight = Below 18.5
• Normal weight = 18.5 – 24.9
• Overweight = 25.0 – 29.9
• Obese = 30 or greater

These ranges should only be applied to adults.

Interpreting BMI in children

In children, Body Mass Index calculations are done as above, but the values are generally compared to those of all children of the same sex and age rather than to arbitrary thresholds. In this way, you can get a sense for the relative ranking within the population as a whole.

According to the CDC, a BMI percentile in the range of 5%-85% correspends to healthy weight. Below 5% is considered underweight, 85%-95% is considered overweight, and greater than 95% is obese.

Criticisms of Body Mass Index

I never been a big fan of BMI, and I’m not alone. Because BMI is based only on weight and height, it doesn’t take into account body composition, and can thus be inaccurate when it comes to determining whether or not someone is under/overweight.

For example, BMI estimates for athletes or those with a muscular build might be inflated despite the individual being in good physical condition. Likewise, BMI values for older people or those who have low muscle mass might be artificially low.

As such, BMI alone is often a poor indicator of morbidity and/or mortality even though many in health-related fields rely on it for such things.

When I first started running, I kept reading about how I should be running at a pace where I’m breathing easily enough to carry on a conversation. At the time, this was a bit disheartening because there was no way I could maintain “conversational” breathing for any length of time while out running.

It’s not that I was in particularly bad shape, as I had been rowing regularly. It’s just that I wasn’t in running shape. But guess what? While out running an easy four miler this morning (yes, I said “easy” – amazing, huh?) I was struck but how slow and steady my breathing was.

The same thing happened while out on my longer run (6.5 miles) earlier in the week. Sure, my legs were tired near the end, but my breathing remained relatively slow and steady. No panting, no heart pounding. Just a nice, conversational pace.

If you’re just starting out, take it from me… You’ll get there. It might take a few months, but you will get to a point where you can run at a conversational pace.